Chapter 479: Convergence and Setting Sail
’The Future is an intricate web of infinite possibilities, each represented by the labyrinth of ’Parallel Pathways’, branching out like an endless tree of potential outcomes.
These pathways diverge with every choice made, however, there are pivotal moments when these paths sometimes converge, narrowing the infinite possibilities to a singular path.
This Convergence, marks a Nexus Event, a critical juncture where all potential futures align into one inevitable reality.
Here, Time intertwines with the laws of Fate, showing that while the future is vast and full of possibilities, there are moments where fate dictates only one way forward.
Only after surpassing this juncture, can one regain the vast expanse of potential futures.’
◇ ◇ ◇
Arthur’s eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing his heterochromatic irises which blankly stared into the air.
There was a distinct lack of focus in his eyes and this was because although his consciousness was awake, it was very, VERY busy.
It took him several minutes to organize the influx of new information flowing into his mind, and it was then that his eyes regained their focus.
His body floated down to the ground, landing perfectly on his seat and he took a deep breath before raising his hand.
|¬I should disable this barrier...¬|
He unconsciously spoke in his Faux True Voice, and the law of space bent to his will, dissolving the barrier around him.
Just then, the door opened and a familiar Demoness walked in. Seeing her, Arthur raised a brow in light surprise before waving with his outstretched hand.
"Hey, there. Been a while."
"...Indeed, It has."
Arthur sensed something off about the way she replied, and he placed his fingers on his temples for a moment before asking.
"How long was I out?"
"Today makes it Three Weeks."
The boy nodded to himself after hearing this, before getting up a stretching his limbs.
His Pseudo-Authority of time quickly informed him exactly how much had passed, culminating in a total of 21 days, 17 Hours and 34 minutes.
’I think I’d need some time to regain control over my Time Powers.’
Arthur’s reasoning for this was what had just happened. The question he posed was to Aravae, and though he had used his normal voice, there was still a hint of law energy infused passively, so the law of Time had responded as well, despite him not wanting it to.
’If I can’t completely control it for little things like this, it’d be a disaster when I need to use it on a Large Scale.’
The boy cracked his neck a bit before scanning his body with cosmic energy to confirm his current comprehension levels.
Time: 59%->79%
Destruction: 52%->68%
Extinction: 15%->25%
Space: 30%->39%
Gravity: 38%->44%
"Looks like I’d be getting my third Pseudo-Authority soon.
I need to become a Sovereign before then though..."
Arthur muttered to himself, before looking back to Aravae and asking her where Alvey was. After getting a location, he warped himself over there, surprising the nearby High-Rank Demons when he just seamlessly appeared in their perception range.
"Sup."
"You’re finally awake..."
"I wasn’t sleeping, though?"
The boy replied casually as he glanced at the Brigade and Division Commanders whom Alvey was originally talking with before asking.
"Plomux?"
"Yes."
Alvey handed him a memory gem and Arthur tossed it into his subspace before speaking.
"I’m going to Sloklens for a bit."
With that line, he teleported out once more, while Alvey just shook his head and went back to what he was doing.
Naturally, he was bombarded with questions from the High Ranked Demons—mostly the new ones, but he simply told them that they should go read the report he had sent to them before they came to Aramis, before ignoring every other question they asked.
◇ ◇ ◇
Spatial law energy converged at a Gledean mountain top and the figure of our resident Progenitor appeared.
He looked around dumbfoundedly, before sighing with exasperation.
"Even my teleportation is messed up over long distances as well.
I’m 2.5 kilometres off from my intended landing spot."
He waved his hands to blow away the clouds around the mountaintop before sitting down and looking around.He decided to spend the next few hours getting his out-of-control spatial power back under control before leaving and heading to Sloklens like he originally intended.
As for why he was going there, it was to check on Rachel.
While he was getting his power back under control, he thought about the understanding he had come to after delving deep into the law of time.
’A Nexus Event, huh?’
This was a fulcrum point where choices made resonated across spacetime.
The outcome of whatever Nexus Event Arthur would be drawn into in the future would have far-reaching consequences, potentially impacting the fate of the Orithyia Galaxy, and perhaps even the entire Valmone Universe.
While for many, the prospect of such a significant event would be daunting, placing a burden on them mentally or physically, Arthur was unfazed.
From birth, his very existence had altered the fates of countless individuals across the cosmos, whether he liked it or not.
Adding another galaxy or universe to the equation wasn’t anything particularly remarkable. It’d just be another step on his path.
However, he chose not to disclose this information to Alvey and the others, sensing that pre-emptive disclosure might lead to complications.
As stated earlier, the weight of knowing about the impending Nexus Event could be a distraction, or worse, a cause for fear and hesitation.
’What I should be concerned about is how to steer this event to my favour...to allow me to gain the best out of it.’
Raising his hand, Arthur grasped the intangible threads of the law of fate, looking at one of such threads that stretched far off into the distance, in the direction of Rhigor.
This was one of the Demon Dominated Continents of Aramis, and the one where the Dimensional Rift to their home planet was located.
’The puzzle is incomplete, and the last piece is either on Rhigor...or on Prime World Gozon.’
"I’d find out when I go to Gozon..."
Arthur murmured to himself. With that, he rose to his feet, dusted his clothes, and vanished from the mountaintop in a teleportation.
◇ ◇ ◇
Plomux lay on Gledea’s western side, separated from it by the vast Chatane Ocean. With the Triton’s Ark now controlled by the Demons in the Umhiz Ocean separating Gledea and Zefesh, the Aramisians faced a significant naval disadvantage.
Alvey’s plan involved sailing the Triton’s Ark across the Southern Hemisphere from the Umhiz Ocean to the Chatane Ocean, staying close to land. They aimed to approach Plomux and use the Triton’s Ark to launch a surprise attack on its navy, which had grown lax due to the lack of eastern threats from the Chatane Ocean.
Most of Plomux’s defences were concentrated on the west to fend off constant attacks from the Guwos Continent, now controlled by the Gozonians. The Aramisians relied on Yedrist as a shield from eastern attacks, unaware that Alvey had killed Yedrist.
Meanwhile, the Aramisians sought reinforcements from other worlds just as the Gozonians had done, with the being carried out by the god Lords and Kings of the Aramis faction.
The Heroes of Aramis were warned by the planet that the Gozonians had called in Dark Dragons, so the Aramisian god Kings searched for Dragonslayers to send over to Aramis, intending to hide them on Plomux for the time being.
Demonslayers existed in the Valmone Universe, but they wouldn’t be found within the Orithyia Galaxy or its surrounding clusters. After all, this was where the Gozonians called home.
No way they’d allow Demonslayers to thrive in their backyard.
Thus, the Aramisians had to rely on Divinity and Light magic against the demons.
They also had meetings and decided to send out a Hero to deal with Arthur if they were to catch sight of him on any battlefield.
As the intel of the Aramisians stated Arthur was last seen on Zefesh, the chosen Hero was dispatched there while the others stayed on Plomux.
On a side note, just like Alvey’s secret about Yedrist’s death, the Aramisians hid the existence of their new Hero, giving them a total of four heroes instead of the three the Gozonians knew about.
Unfortunately, the new Hero was still young and was only a Legendary. Compared to his Transcendent Senior Heroes who were only a bit weaker than Yedrist—the Leviathan who singlehandedly deterred both Aramisians and Gozonians from crossing Chatane—his strength barely amounted to anything much.
It wasn’t enough to influence the war greatly...yet.
They planned to have him secretly participate in battles against the Guwos Demon Navy to increase his level greatly.
The Aramisians spread out their new reinforcements across their two battlefront continents, Gledea and Zefesh. The reserves remained in Plomux with the hidden Dragonslayers.
The Reinforcements to Zefesh finally equalized the situation halting the Demons’ momentum, bringing things to a stalemate.
As for Gledea, they simply replenished the forces which were lost during the Great Battle in January and the subsequent small skirmishes.
◇ ◇ ◇
By May 4th, the Triton’s Ark reached the Donnapond Peninsula in southwest Gledea, the counterpart to Whitboro Wharf in the east.
The Donnapond Peninsula led into the Donnapond Archipelago, and thanks to the natural positioning of this extensive group of islands, the Triton’s Ark could hide itself using them as a cover.
Around 70% of the ground forces destined to attack Plomux boarded the Mobile Assault Fortress and began their journey across the Chatane Ocean.
During the journey, Alvey informed the high-ranked demons of Yedrist’s death and revealed his plan to retrieve the Leviathan’s corpse as a morale killer for the Aramisians on Plomux, who believed an attack from the Chatane Ocean was impossible due to Yedrist’s presence.
Alvey appointed the newly arrived Demon Admirals to replace Barron on Zefesh and brought Barron along. Leading the way across Chatane was Barron’s fleet, with the Triton’s Ark trailing behind at a safe distance.
Sailing across the vast Chatane Ocean, the Gozonian Armada was bound to encounter Sea Monsters. Especially those who were still carrying out Yedrist’s Orders to attack anyone who trespassed, unaware of the Leviathan’s death.
Some of such battles could release waves of demonic energy which the Aramisians might sense.
To prevent these skirmishes from alerting the Aramisians, Barron deployed scouts to survey the ocean routes ahead.
If the monsters up ahead were manageable, the scouts would set up concealment formations and swiftly eliminate them to ensure undisturbed passage for the ships.
However, if the monsters were either too numerous or too strong to defeat without attracting attention, they would relay this information back, prompting the Armada to alter their course.
It was a carefully planned strategy that involved stealth, and adaptive navigation.
Of course, because they felt it’d be fun, Arthur and Evan joined one of the Scout Fleets. Well, Arthur felt it’d be fun, while Evan wanted to use the monsters to Level Up and reach the Superior Stage of the Epic Realm faster.
In this manner, the Demon Armada sailed across the Chatane Ocean, and by the 10th, the shores of Plomux loomed into view.
It was during the final lap of their journey that the Gozonians encountered a strange phenomenon.
Two scout fleets on the west vanished overnight—15 light ships, 4 support vessels, and 1 command ship each, disappearing without a trace.
As the Gozonians scrambled to unravel the mystery, a third fleet went silent, followed by a fourth dispatched to investigate.
Eighty ships and thousands of soldiers were lost in mere hours!
Alarmed, the Gozonians dispatched two High Ranked Demons to scan the area, risking detection by the Aramisians.
Yet, as if the unknown menace anticipated this, it shifted its attacks, targeting a fleet on the opposite side of the Armada.
Fortunately, and Unfortunately, it just so happened to be the fleet where Arthur and Evan were stationed.
